The America Under the New Administration Seems Strangely Familiar to Those Watching from the East

When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material where I directly criticize the government … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.

However over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”

Ever since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of force.

But since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in America since 2019, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.

“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

His backlash originated from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.

Recently, the US government stated it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made some investors nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. US courts have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad